Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address at the inauguration and laying of Foundation Stone for various development projects in Varanasi
Governor of Uttar Pradesh Shriman Ram Naik Ji, the energetic, high spirited, hardworking and glorious chief minister of the state Shriman Yogi Adityanath Ji, my colleague in the union council of ministers Shriman Manoj Sinha Ji, my colleague in the parliament and a very old friend of mine and the president of Bhartiya Janta Party in Uttar Pradesh Shriman Mahendra Nath Pandey Ji, Charge-de-affairs in the embassy of Japan Shri Hireka Asari Ji and my brothers and sisters of Banaras.
Before anything else, I would like to praise a daughter of the country who has made the country proud. You people may have seen this thing that an young daughter of Deengam in Navgaon district of Assam has made a spectacular performance; and those who have seen it on TV; today I have specially tweeted this thing; and it was surprising for the commentators present in the stadium that a daughter of India was moving ahead every second by leaving behind the world champions and it will make any Indian proud with the kind of excitement commentators were talking about this thing.
And later you people would have seen that Hima Das achieved a wonderful thing, she brought laurels for the country and when it was finally decided that she had won then she was running by holding her hands in air while waiting for the tricolour and she was anxiously waiting to hold the tricolour in her hand and she had this feeling of victory in her heart. And she did not forget to wrap around her Assamese cloth around her neck after the victory when she waved the tricolour. And when she was awarded with the medal; when she was standing there and when Jan-Man-Gan was played, you people would have seen that the tears of success were flowing out of the eyes of 18 year old Hima Das, those tears of success were dedicated to mother India. This kind of scene in itself gives a new energy and inspiration to 1.25 billion Indians.
A daughter of a farmer family that grows rice in a small village and who used to play at district level just 18 months ago, who had never played at the state level, within 18 months she has come back by making the country proud in the world. I congratulate Hima Das, I convey my best wishes to her. And I also urge you people to praise Hima Das by clapping for her. Please praise our daughter, this daughter from Assam has done the country proud. Many-many congratulations.
Brothers and sisters,
The month of Savan, the favorite month of Baba Bholenath  is about to start. In a few days time, the hordes of devotees of Lord Shiva from all over the country, from all over the world are going to gather in Kashi. The preparations for this festival are underway at a fast speed.
Brothers and sisters,
At a time when we are busy in preparing for this festival then before anything else I would like to share the pain of those families who have lost their loved ones in accidents in past some time. The accident that took place in Banaras, the loss of invaluable lives is extremely painful. I express my condolences to all the affected families. Sharing the pain of others, this feeling of cooperation and compassion, this is the hallmark of Kashi. This simple behavior like that of the Lord Shiva and character like the mother Ganga’s character that absorbs everyone’s pain and misery in itself are the hallmark of Banaras. People of Banaras never ever forget these values wherever they may live in the country or in the world.
Friends,
Banaras is like this only since last hundreds of years, it has been immersed in traditions. In the last four years, an effort has been made on regular basis to give a new recognition to its mythological identity, to develop Kashi as per the requirements of the 21st century. A New Banaras is being built for a New India which will have an ancient soul but a most modern body will be built for it. Where culture and values will be all over the place but facilities will be full of smart systems. Now this changing face of Banaras is visible from all the sides.
Today, if anyone sees the images of the roads, intersections, courtyards, lanes, riverbanks and ponds of Kashi then he feels immense happiness. Electricity wires hanging overhead have now disappeared. The roads have floodlights. Fountains with colorful lights present heart touching view.
Friends,
An investment worth tens of thousands of crore rupees has been made in Banaras during the last four years and this will continue. There were several challenges in the days following the year 2014. Previous government did not extend enough support for the development of Kashi. Leave alone providing the support for development, in fact hurdles were created. However, since the time when you people have installed BJP government in Uttar Pradesh with a massive mandate, the speed of development of Kashi has become faster in the entire Uttar Pradesh. By continuing this series, I have either dedicated or laid the foundation stones for the schemes worth Rs. 1,000 crore just a while ago. These more than 30 projects of central and state governments are related to the roads, transportation, supply of water, sewage, cooking gas, cleanliness and beautification of this city. In addition to this, people of the city are going to be immensely benefitted by the establishment of the circuit bench of Income Tax tribunal CGHS wellness centre facility for the central government employees.
Brothers and sisters,
Nearby villages are also benefitting from whatever changes are being brought into Banaras. Today, several schemes in these villages related to drinking water have been dedicated to public here. I would like to especially congratulate you, to the farmer brothers and sisters who have gathered here. There is a perishable cargo center near this place which has now been built. I am fortunate that I had the opportunity to lay the foundation stone for it and today I also got the opportunity to dedicate it to public.
Friends,
This cargo center is going to be a big boon for farmers of the area. Adequate arrangements have been made for storage of vegetables like potato, green beans and tomatoes that perish in a short span of time. Now you people will not have to incur the losses caused because of spoiling of fruits and vegetables. Railway station is also not far away. Now it will be easier for you people to supply fruits and vegetables to other cities.
Brothers and sisters,
This government is following the path of transformation through transportation at a fast pace. Our maximum focus is on this eastern part of the country. The foundation stone for the longest expressway which was laid in Azamgarh just a while ago is also part of the same vision.
Friends,
The city of Kashi has always been the place for ultimate salvation and there is also no dearth of people who come here in the search of life. However, it is fast emerging as the hub for reducing the difficulties in life through medical science. Banaras has started to emerge as a health hub in the eastern India due to cooperation of you people. Our BHU which was known for education is now getting recognised in the field of medicine as well. You would be happy to know that recently BHU has signed an agreement with AIIMs to set up a world class health institute. In a way, it has started and very soon the results of this thing will be visible to you people. Connectivity is very important for the people of Banaras along with those people those who visit Banaras. Therefore, be it road or rail, Kashi is getting several new facilities. In this direction, work is being done to give a new face to the cant railway station. The work of doubling the railway track connecting Varanasi to Allahabad and Chapara is being done at fast speed. The work of electrification of railway track from Varanasi to Balia has been completed and a Memo train has started operation on this track from today. I have just flagged of the train. Now people from Balia and Gazipur will be able to come here on this train and they will be able to go back in the evening after completing their work. Now the people of the region are going to get relief from the crowd in long distance trains.
Friends,
The effort to provide better facilities to devotees has been going on in Kashi. The devotees of Lord Shiva who come here from the country and all over the world, the arrangements are being made for them so that they don’t have to face problem while visiting the city. The work for widening the Panch Kosi road has been started from today. In addition to this, two dozen roads connecting to all the places of cultural or spiritual importance have either been modified or being rebuilt altogether. These roads have been dedicated to public just a while ago.
Brothers and sisters,
Kashi has been emerging as an important centre in the international map of tourism. Today, the foundation stone for international conversion centre – Rudraksh – has been laid here. Two years ago when the Prime Minister of Japan and my close friend Shriman Shinzo Abe had come to Kashi with me then he had gifted this thing to India, to the people of Kashi. This project is slated to be completed in the next one and a half to two years. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister of Japan Shriman Shinzo Abe Ji on behalf of all of you, the residents of Kashi and also on behalf of our countrymen.
Friends,
I am happy that Yogi Ji and his team have been encouraging tourism not only in Kashi but in the entire UP. The work on cleanliness and beautification of heritage sites is being done at a fast pace for this purpose. The way all of you, the people of UP have taken forward the cleanliness, the clean India mission is especially praiseworthy. Your contribution for a clean, beautiful and healthy India is praiseworthy.
Friends,
Whatever you people have been doing to maintain the greatness and historic value of Kashi is immeasurable. But we should not forget the time of four years ago when the system of Varanasi was under threat. You people might not have forgotten the garbage all around, filth, crumbling parks, poor roads, overflowing sever, electricity wires hanging from the poles, entire city frustrated with traffic jams, you might not have forgotten that road connecting to Babadpura airport to the city on which you people were dependent. The situation was like this that in order to avoid difficulties people used to go to the cant railway station instead of going to the airport. What was the situation of Ganga Ji, of her riverbanks, all this is known to everyone. How the garbage and filth of the entire city and villages were drained into Ganga Ji and all the systems of previous government were least bothered about these things. There is no account of how much money was wasted in the name of Ganga Ji. On the one hand there was threat to the flow of Ganga Ji, there was threat to the purity of Ganga water and on the other hand people’s coffers were overflowing with the money. In such a situation, the task of cleaning Ganga Ji was taken up. Today, the campaign to make mother Ganga clean has been going on at a rapid pace. It’s not just in Banaras, all the efforts are made simultaneously from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar. It is not just cleanliness but the arrangements are also made so that sewage of cities is not dumped in to Ganga. More than 200 schemes worth Rs. 21,000 crore has been approved so far for this purpose. Several projects related to sewage has been either dedicated to public or their foundation stones were being laid here just a while ago.
Friends,
The government is also ensuring this thing that the treatment plants that are being built they should operate properly because this was the work culture of previous governments that though earlier the treatment plants were built but they did not work as per the capacity nor they remained functional for a long time. Now, whichever treatment plants are being constructed, it has also been ensured that they should work for at least 15 years. It means our emphasis is not only on construction of sewage treatment plants but it is also on keeping them operational. It takes more time and labour but a permanent structure is being created. And its results will be visible to the people of Banaras in the near future.
Brothers and sisters,
The program that is taking place here today, it is also going to convert Banaras into a smart city. The work on an integrated command and control center is taking place here at rapid speed. The administration and public facilities of the entire country are going to be controlled from here only. Today, the work is going on nearly 10 such projects.
Friends,
Smart City is not a campaign just to improve the infrastructure of cities but it is a mission to give a new identity to the country. It is a symbol of a Young India, a New India. Similarly, Make in India and Digital India missions have been making the lives of common man easier. Our Uttar Pradesh has been playing a lead role in it. I congratulate Yogi Ji and his entire team for the industrial policy and atmosphere for investment that you have created and its results are now becoming visible. A few days ago in Noida, I got the opportunity to publicly dedicate Samsung’s largest mobile manufacturing unit in the world. This will create thousands of opportunities for employment. You would be proud to know that in the last four years the number of mobile manufacturing units in the country has increased from 2 to 120 and 50 out of these are located in our Uttar Pradesh. Today, these factories are providing employment to more than 4 lakh youth.
Friends,
In addition to Make in India, Digital India is also turning out to be an effective medium for creating employment. Today, a BPO of Tata Consultancy Services, TCS, is being started here. This centre will bring new employment opportunities for the youth of Banaras.
Brothers and sisters,
Whenever the issue of employment comes up then the government is giving special attention to mothers and sisters in this sector too. Be it the loan for self-employment without a bank guarantee under Mudra Scheme or be it free LPG cylinder, a massive change is being brought about in the lives of poor mothers and sisters. A massive project is going on in Kashi so that clean fuel can be provided to all. Public dedication of city gas distribution system is a part of this thing. A pipeline is being laid from Allahabad to Banaras for this purpose. I am happy that piped gas connections have been installed in 8,000 homes of Banaras so far and the work to provide it to more than 40,000 homes is going on.
Friends,
This is not just a facility related to fuel but it’s a mission to overhaul the entire ecosystem of the city. Be it PNG or CNG, this infrastructure is going to bring down the pollution level in the city. Just imagine when the buses, cars and autos of Banaras will run on CNG then how many avenues of employment it will create.
Friends,
Whenever I meet the Prime Minister of Japan or any other Indian meets the Prime Minister of Japan and wherever he gets the opportunity then I observe it regularly that my friend Prime Minister of Japan continues to narrate what he has experienced in Kashi and he continues to narrate the way people of Kashi welcomed him. He continues to praise Kashi. Sometime back President of France had come here with me and the way people of Kashi welcomed the President of France, the way they honored him and gave him respect, today, the entire France discusses this thing with a lot of pride. The President of France mentions this thing. This is the tradition of Kashi, this is the feeling of affinity of Kashi. This is the fragrance that Kashi has spread in the world. This love and affection of Kashi is incredible.
My dear brothers and sisters of Kashi,
Once again you people are going to get a massive opportunity to showcase the love and warmth of Kashi, to show case the affinity and hospitality of Kashi to the entire world. Will you make all the preparations for it? Will you extend a grand welcome? Will you make Kashi proud? Will you wholeheartedly praise every guest? Will you certainly do it? Done! Promise! See, Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is going to be organised in Kashi in the month of January from 21st to 23rd of January. Overseas Indians from all over the world are going to attend this Pravasi Bhartiya Day. Wherever in the world Indians are there in business, in politics or they are running governments, all of these people are going to come to Kashi together between 21st to 23rd January. Some of them will be those whose ancestors had gone to foreign countries four-five generations ago and they never came back, children of those people are going to come to India for the first time to see this land. Please tell me whether such a grand event will bring prestige to Kashi or not? Whether we should make preparations to welcome these people or not? Whether every locality should create necessary atmosphere to welcome these people or not? Whether Kashi should earn praise all over the world or not? Please start preparing for this thing right away and all these guests who will come here from all over the world, they will be here between 21st to 23rd January, and they will reach Prayag Raj on 24th to visit Kumbh festival and they will reach Delhi on the 26th of January.
I especially urge the people of Kashi to extend their hospitality. And As someone from Kashi, I will also be with you people shoulder to shoulder on that day on the 21st January. The people of India are coming to participate in this programme from all over the world. It’s very important event so I invite all of you to start preparations to host them.
My brothers and sisters of Kashi,
Today, I got the opportunity to visit you people. I got the opportunity to dedicate several schemes to you people and lay foundation stones for several others. As a member of parliament representing you people it is my duty to do whatever I can do for you people, to do whatever hard work I can do for you people and I have been doing it and I will continue to do it.
Once again I convey my heartfelt regards to the people of Kashi. Please join me in saying it aloud – Har Har Maha Dev.
Thank you very much.